working life

working life (plural working lives)

2. Of a person, the period of their life spent in employment, between leaving school and retirement.

   Coordinate term: career

   • 1942 September and October, Charles E. Lee, “The Stanhope & Tyne Railway: II–Self-Acting Inclines”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

     To an exceptional degree the duties on these inclines have been passed on from father to son; many a boy has begun his working life in oiling the sheaves and, after passing through every grade, has reached the age of retirement in the responsible position of brakesman.

4. Of an object, its lifespan, especially a durable good; its expected duration or its actual duration.

   Synonyms: service life, useful life

   Cheaper tires typically have a shorter working life than the pricier alternatives, which means that the total cost of ownership (per mile) is closer to equal although the upfront cost is more affordable.

   • 1942 March, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes”, in Railway Magazine, page 93:

     Some interesting facts have recently been made known by the L.N.E.R. concerning the 178-ton Garratt 2-8-0 + 0-8-2 engine No. 2395, which since construction in 1925 has spent the whole of its working life banking coal trains up the 3 miles of 1 in 40 between Wentworth junction and West Silkstone, on the Worsborough branch, near Barnsley.

   • 1958 June, “The Last British Atlantic”, in Railway Magazine, page 383:

     A chapter of locomotive history was closed on Sunday, April 13, when the last Atlantic tender locomotive to remain in service on British Railways, No. 32424, Beachy Head, ended its working life of more than 46 years.

• “working life”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.